The Best French Films of The 21st Century

France has always been a trailblazer for European cinema. To begin with, it played a key role in the birth of film with the Lumière brothers’ shorts, while in the ‘20s it became prominent with the French Impressionist Cinema and in the late 50s a new generation of French directors arrived to turn everything upside down, creating the French New Wave.

Since we are talking about French films, we can’t avoid mentioning the wild independent filmmakers or the directors that don’t fit in the bigger picture due to their unique style, such as François Ozon, Alain Resnais, Jean-Jacques Annaud and Jean-Luc Godard, the representatives of Auteurism.

1. The Intouchables (2011)
Genres: Biography / Comedy / Drama
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
Cast: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Audrey Fleurot.

Plot: A rich quadriplegic, living in a mansion in Paris, requires a live-in carer. A young offender turns up for an interview, but he is not really looking to get the job. However, to his surprise, he is hired. The two men then develop a close friendship.

2. La Vie en Rose (2007)
Genres: Biography / Drama / Music
Director: Olivier Dahan
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Gérard Depardieu, Emmanuelle Seigner.

Plot: An un-chronological look at the life of the Little Sparrow, Édith Piaf. Her mother is an alcoholic street singer, her father a circus performer, her paternal grandmother a madam. During childhood she lives with each of them. At 20, she's a street singer discovered by a club owner who's soon murdered, coached by a musician who brings her to concert halls, and then quickly famous. Constant companions are alcohol and heartache.

3. Amelie (2001)
Genres: Comedy / Romance
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Jamel Debbouze.

Plot: Amélie is a shy waitress in a Montmartre café. After returning a long-lost childhood treasure to a former occupant of her apartment, and seeing the effect it has on him, she decides to set out on a mission to make others happy and in the meantime pursues a quirky guy who collects discarded photo booth pictures.

4. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
Genres: Action / Drama / Adventure
Director: Christophe Gans
Cast: Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci.

Plot: In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.

5. Angel-A (2005)
Genres: Comedy / Drama / Fantasy
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Rie Rasmussen, Jamel Debbouze, Gilbert Melki.

Plot: In Paris, André is a loser: a short disheveled Arab with a U.S. green card and a withered hand he keeps shoved in a pocket. He's a constant liar, spinning tales of Argentine olive oil. He owes lots of money to two thugs who both demand payment by midnight. In despair, he importunes God for forsaking him, and he climbs an abutment to jump off a bridge. Something distracts him - it's a leggy blonde in a short skirt about to leap off the same bridge. She jumps, he leaps and swims to her rescue, and thus begins their two-day odyssey. Can André ever tell the truth, accept himself, and express emotion? And the blonde - what's her history, and did she really need saving?

6. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
Genres: Romance / Drama / Mystery
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard.

Plot: This film is inspiring, to follow what you believe and find your loved ones! A very moving film but very true to life! A story of five soldiers being summoned to No Mans Land and left to die. The film shows how these soldiers fought for their lives and how one particular solider, Manech, and his soon to be wife, played by Audrey Tautou, uncovers the truth to find out about his whereabouts.

7. The Artist (2011)
Genres: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman.

Plot: Outside a movie premiere, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller literally bumps into the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin. The star reacts graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his cheek as they are surrounded by photographers. The headlines demand: "Who's That Girl?" and Peppy is inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin's world upside-down.

8. Coco Before Chanel (2009)
Genres: Biography / Drama
Director: Anne Fontaine
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola.

Plot: Several years after leaving the orphanage to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Balsan gives her an entrée into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats. When she falls in love with businessman Capel further opportunities open up, though life becomes ever more complicated.

9. Swimming Pool (2003)
Genres: Crime / Drama / Mystery
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Ludivine Sagnier, Charlotte Rampling, Charles Dance.

Plot: Swimming Pool focuses on Sarah, a rigid and conservative, yet successful English mystery writer. Sarah's personal life and new novel take a dramatic twist when she meets her publisher's sexy, free-spirited daughter Julie at his gracious mansion in the French countryside.

10. Anything for Her (2008)
Genres: Crime / Drama / Thriller
Director: Fred Cavayé
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Diane Kruger, Liliane Rovère.

Plot: Lisa and Julien are married and lead a happy uneventful life with their son Oscar. But their life radically changes one morning, when the police comes to arrest Lisa on murder charges. She's sentenced to 20 years of prison. Convinced of his wife's innocence, Julien decides to act. How far will he be willing to go for her?